There’s a little kitchen in Toowoomba that’s churning out the type of chocolate that would be at home on the shelves of Koko Black, and you need to know about it.
Saurine & Co Chocolate was launched in June this year after years of planning, by Toowoomba local Stacey Saurine. HR office worker by day, Stacey spends nights, and all her spare seconds, tempering, ganaching and creating a delicious chocolate storm in her purpose built and climate controlled kitchen.
As a lifetime chocolate person, Stacey took her love for the good stuff to the next level after a trip to Melbourne’s many boutique chocolate stores piqued her interest in creating her own.
“I’ve always wanted to do something creative,” she says. “Two years ago I went down to Melbourne and fell in love with their chocolate shops – the quality was like nothing I’ve tasted before. I have a massive sweet tooth and love dessert, so I found a chocolate course in Melbourne and started things from there.”
“…fresh butter and cream…solid dipped chocolate filled with hazelnut and almond praline…high percentage of cocoa butter…”
And opened up a whole new world. Because eating chocolate is super easy (trust me, the box Stacey gave me disappeared incredibly quickly) but making it is much more time consuming.
“It’s a real science,” she says. “It’s fascinating and I find it really challenging. There’s so much in it – like tempering, moulded, dipped, and different ganache, caramels and fillings you can make. With some of the moulded ones it’s a three-day process to make because you need to allow each process sufficient time to crystalise. If you rush it, it won’t work.”
Stacey says the secret to a good chocolate is a high percentage of cocoa butter.
“I use a Belgian couverture chocolate, it tastes lovely on the tongue and has a good snap and shine to it. The brand I use is Callebaut I love it; it’s just divine.”
Stacey makes everything herself – including the fillings. She infuses her white, milk and dark chocolate chocolates with as much flavour as possible, using things like fresh coffee beans, real orange rind and fruit purees in her ganache fillings.
(There’s also a solid dipped chocolate filled with hazelnut and almond praline on the Saurine & Co Chocolate menu that you really shouldn’t miss.)
Everything is made in small batches to ensure quality control, and once your order is ready it’s Stacey who will hand deliver it to your door (Thursdays and Saturday mornings).
Because Stacey uses fresh cream and butter she recommends eating the chocolates within two weeks of receiving them. In my house they didn’t even last two days, so this really shouldn’t be a problem.
In the future you should keep your eyes peeled for Saurine & Co Chocolate on our local market scene, although given the temperamental and highly melty nature of chocolate this won’t be until summer passes.
Saurine & Co Chocolates are available to purchase online at www.saurinechocolate.com.au in three sizes, with the smallest starting at $14. Each box contains a random mix of chocolates, however if you’re wanting something in particular Stacey will organise that for you.
You can also follow all the chocolatey goodness on Facebook and Instagram.
Stacey’s chocolates look and sound absolutely decadent! Can’t wait to try them for myself. They would make beautiful gifts for that special occasion or just to self indulge! Best wishes to Stacey on her persistence and dedication to achieving her passion for making quality chocolates.